Counting Votes for Alan

In the UK, the BBC’s petition to free Alan Johnston passes 50,000 signatures.

In Palestine, a vote was called among members of a jihadist Palestinian online forum al-Ommh to decide the fate of Alan Johnston. Their verdict, by a count of 21:1, was death to the kafr.

Must 50,000 souls always be so impotent, so irrelevant, in the face of a small, determined group with evil on its mind?

On a clear day in September 2001 fewer than 21 jihadists were able to bring down the World Trade Center and wound the center of American military power. How many tragedies will we need to mourn before the irrelevant, sleeping masses awaken?